documents. that was part of a deal to end his iii year legal battle over the leaking of vast amounts of secret us military information on the internet. the 52—year—old is now on his way home to australia following the hearing. and from where a southeast asia correspondent jonathan had sent this report. the last stage of a very long journey. julian assange walked into the courtroom on this remote pacific island to hear whether the agreement he'd struck with us prosecutors would stick. after two hours of very careful consideration by the judge, it did. he pleaded guilty, and she agreed to a sentence equal to the time he'd already served in britain. but his lawyers still insist his prosecution for breaking an espionage law was unjust. we firmly believed that mr assange never should have been charged under the espionage act, and engaged in exercise thatjournalists engage in every day. and we're thankful that they do. it is appropriate, though, for this fight to end and it is appropriate for thejudge, as she did today, to determine that no additional incarceration of mr assange would be fair, would be appropriate, and it is time for him to be reunited with his family. his decision to leak thousands of classified documents and videos like this one — showing a us military helicopter killing two journalists in iraq — infuriated the us, which said his actions endangered the lives of its soldiers. assange sought asylum in the ecuadorian embassy in london, after sexual—assault charges were filed against him in sweden, which were later dropped. and he stayed there seven years before being thrown out. by then, he was wanted in the us, and held in belmarsh high—security prison, awaiting extradition. pressure from activists and from his home country, australia — a close us ally — finally paved the way for a deal. so for his family, elation that all their campaigning has paid off. i mean, doing cartwheels is a good expression of the joy that one feels thatjulian is returned home — well, about to return home. after the verdict, there was a rush to getjulian assange back on his plane for the long flight home. this had been the briefest of stays in us territory, which he'd fought so long to avoid. but it did deliver perhaps the best possible outcome. so after an extraordinary ia—year—long saga, julian assange has left this courtroom on his way to australia a free man. the deal he had to make with the us government divides opinion — as will his legacy. he is still a hero of free speech to some, an unapologetic assailant on national security for others. jonathan head, bbc news, saipan. as she saw, his flight has left. you can see the flight is now over australian territory and it is, from my understanding, it is not very far, a couple of hours. let's go live to someone who does know about australia and its size, katy watson is live in canberra. it looks just a couple of hours left untiljulian assange lands?— couple of hours left untiljulian assanae lands? , ., ., ., assange lands? yes, about an hour and a half until— assange lands? yes, about an hour and a half until he _ assange lands? yes, about an hour and a half until he lands _ assange lands? yes, about an hour and a half until he lands at - and a half until he lands at canberra airport and his supporters and family are getting ready to greet him. his father, his wife, who arrived in australia just a few days ago. she has come to canberra and along with his father, they will be heading to greet him off the plane. there is a great deal of excitement amongst his supporters and family that he is finally returning to australian soil.— that he is finally returning to australian soil. . ~ ., australian soil. talk me through the role that the — australian soil. talk me through the role that the australian _ australian soil. talk me through the role that the australian governmentj role that the australian government played in this?— played in this? there has been a lot of raise played in this? there has been a lot of praise for — played in this? there has been a lot of praise for the _ played in this? there has been a lot of praise for the prime _ played in this? there has been a lot of praise for the prime minister, - of praise for the prime minister, anthony albanese. he has made it clear since he came to power that he wanted to seejulian assange back. it wasn't just a wanted to seejulian assange back. it wasn'tjust a campaign by one prime minister, he got cross party support. it was back in october he was at the white house and he brought up the issue ofjulian assange. priorto brought up the issue ofjulian assange. prior to that there was a cross—party parliamentary group who came to washington to lobby us lawmakers and the department of justice, to say they wanted to see julian assange back, enough was enough and the case had been going on too long. there was a huge amount of effort from the australian ambassador to the us, he has been alongsidejulian assange for the alongside julian assange for the next few days. there has been a huge amount of effort from the australian side to make this happen. it has happened much quicker than perhaps many expected, especially ahead of the us elections. but nevertheless this campaigning has really paid off for his supporters.— for his supporters. thank you very much indeed. _ for his supporters. thank you very much indeed, katy _ for his supporters. thank you very much indeed, katy watson - for his supporters. thank you very much indeed, katy watson in - much indeed, katy watson in canberra. if you want to read more about what is happening with the julian assange case, we are updating the live page minute by minute, both in australia and around the world, you can get the latest on his journey back to australia, the role the australian government paid and what he plans to do over the coming days and weeks. that is on the bbc website, where ever you are. let's come back to the election and just a week of campaigning left. rishi sunak and labour's sir keir starmer are preparing to go head—to—head in theirfinal are preparing to go head—to—head in their final debate are preparing to go head—to—head in theirfinal debate where are preparing to go head—to—head in their final debate where they will face questions from an audience in nottingham this evening. it is live on the bbc. it comes as members from both parties face difficult questions about betting allegations. a cabinet minister admitted placing three bets in the weeks before the election announcement and labour and the lib dems are talking about health in their campaigning, with labour promising to end the 80 am scramble for gp appointments. the second and final head—to—head clash between rishi sunak and the man he wants hisjob, keir starmer, takes place tonight on the bbc. it is worth a bet that one of the topics might involve gambling. a conservative campaign has been buffeted by allegations that the two candidates, two party officials and now a member of the welsh government battered on the date of the general election and are facing inquiries from the gambling watchdog. it is an independent — from the gambling watchdog. it is an independent process... _ from the gambling watchdog. it is an independent process... this - independent process... this candidate — independent process... this candidate and _ independent process... this candidate and aid _ independent process... this candidate and aid to - independent process... this candidate and aid to the prime minister, greg williams lost support of conservative hq yesterday after he admitted taking a flutter on the general election date. he is being investigated by the gambling commission and he said in a campaign video that he would clear his name. i admit an error ofjudgment, not an offence. he i admit an error of 'udgment, not an offence. ., ., ' i admit an error of 'udgment, not an offence. ., .,' ., offence. he turned down the offer of a bbc interview. _ offence. he turned down the offer of a bbc interview. laura _ offence. he turned down the offer of a bbc interview. laura saunders - offence. he turned down the offer of a bbc interview. laura saunders has| a bbc interview. laura saunders has also had support withdrawn from the conservatives and a russell george, conservatives and a russell george, conservative member of the welsh senate has stood down from a front bench role when the gambling commission told him he was being investigated. but labour are not immune from the attentions of the gambling watchdog. kevin craig was swiftly suspended by his party when it emerged he had placed a bet on the conservatives to win the seat he was contesting. he apologised, said he had no prior knowledge of the result and he would fully comply with the gambling commission investigation. it is expected at westminster more allegations could emerge. polling day is getting closer. out of government for iii years, labour needs to build support to win. the party is ahead in the poll so tonight rishi sunak will use this platform to convince voters he deserves to stay on in downing street. iain watson, bbc news. the conservatives are fighting a defensive election campaign with rishi sunak spending time in some of the safest tory seats in the country in recent days. the bbc has been looking at the areas visited by party leaders and the analysis is based on media visits and others covered online since the campaign began. here is nick eardley on that. hello, for weeks the leaders have been whizzing around the country campaigning to win votes. there are a variety of reasons for visiting a particular area. looking at where the leaders have been helps us build up the leaders have been helps us build up a picture of where the parties are putting resources in. bbc teams have been collecting information about where rishi sunak, keir starmer and ed davey have been. the map of constituencies has changed from 2019. we are going to be talking about notional majorities, which is what we calculate would have happened last time based on the new map. secondly, the picture in scotland, in yellow, is more complicated. the snp are a big part of the equation, but so are the leaders of the can scottish conservatives, labour and lib dem parties. northern ireland have different leaders, too. we will look atjust england and wales. with those caveats, let's dive in. rishi sunak, all of these areas highlighted in blue are places he has been since the start of the election campaign. what i think is really interesting about this is some of the areas where rishi sunak has chosen to spend time early in the campaign, sidmouth. the sort of area where the conservatives were comfortably ahead in 2019. it wasn't all like that, there is redcar with all like that, there is redcar with a notional majority, which is a lot less. but when you look at the last ten days, rishi sunak are spending valuable campaigning time in what should be rock—solid tory seat, like grantham and bourne in the east midlands. huge notional majority for the conservatives say, just about 22,400. it is one of the 50 safest seats in the uk based on the notional majority for the tories. another one, surridge in tavistock, down in the south—west. massive notional majority. the key thing this tells us is the evidence is that rishi sunak is fighting a highly defensive campaign, often in areas where the tories have won comfortably in the past. actually, keir starmer is focusing on conservative held constituencies, too. that is perhaps not that surprising given the conservatives want a comfortable majority last time and labour were third. but this is the map showing where keir starmer has been since the election was called. a few interesting examples for you. bassetlaw, where the conservatives again have a notional majority of around 12,500. stevenage, where the tories have had notional majority, 8500. but it gets bigger, reading west and mid berkshire where the conservatives have a notional majority ofjust under 17,000. this all paints a picture of labour parking tanks and conservative loans. finally, ed davey, the lib dems leader. again, the vast majority of his time has been spent in areas where the lib dems think they can take seats from the conservatives. some examples for you. eastleigh, down here. it is a conservative notional majority, 8600. dorking in holy, with a notional majority for the conservatives ofjust notional majority for the conservatives of just over notional majority for the conservatives ofjust over 10000 and it gets bigger, because ed davey has been to chichester where the conservatives have a notional majority, look at that, just under 20,000. 50 majority, look at that, just under 20,000. so all of that paints a picture about what the parties are focusing on. focusing the leaders' times, focusing the resources. it gives us an idea of what those battle buses driving round the country are really up to. that is nick eardley and the verify team. let's look ahead now at tonight's debate and talk through some of those issues we are talking about during the election with a cheap political correspondent henry seth man, who is in nottingham. we will talk about the betting scandal in a moment but i will ask you about the debate, a final chance for voters to watch the two leaders in action to put forward and set out their stall to us?— their stall to us? that is right. i am on the _ their stall to us? that is right. i am on the stage _ their stall to us? that is right. i am on the stage at _ their stall to us? that is right. i am on the stage at nottingham| their stall to us? that is right. i - am on the stage at nottingham trent university where this debate is going to take place between rishi sunak and sir keir starmer. they will be standing at the podium is behind me. i'm not sure which is going to be standing where, but it is a big moment. because any election debate is a big moment but this is practically the last set piece moment of this general election. when he woke up the stage about 9.30 this evening, it will be just over a week to go until polling day. a big moment for them to try to solidify the sense of where this campaign is going. in the case of keir starmer he wants to seal the deal. people i speak to in labour are more optimistic than ever that the 14 years in opposition is coming to an end. for rishi sunak, the incentives are different, he wants to seize the agenda of this campaign, shake up what we think might be going on. no toll order, right? we will see tonight if he can do that. let right? we will see tonight if he can do that. ., r' right? we will see tonight if he can do that. ., , ., right? we will see tonight if he can do that. . do that. let me ask you something about breaking _ do that. let me ask you something about breaking news _ do that. let me ask you something about breaking news we _ do that. let me ask you something about breaking news we have - do that. let me ask you something about breaking news we have had i do that. let me ask you something | about breaking news we have had in the last few minutes and that is a man has been arrested in connection with the westminster honey trap scandal, can you remind viewers what the honey trap scandal is what this is about? ., ., ., , ., ., is about? how long have you got? this was such _ is about? how long have you got? this was such a _ is about? how long have you got? this was such a strange _ is about? how long have you got? this was such a strange story. - is about? how long have you got? | this was such a strange story. back in april it emerged a string of men, mostly working in politics, almost all of whom we had some connection to the world of westminster had received unsolicited messages, mostly on whatsapp, from people calling themselves charlie, abbey and they were extremely fair at latest. it wasn't clear to what end they were seeking to gain in these extremely sexual flirtation. one empty admitted sending them compromising material and the colleagues phone numbers. it was very messy and strange. the met police announced it was conducting an investigation and this morning they arrested a man in islington, north london. we don't know the identity or even the age. they rested them on suspicion of offences both under the online safety, but also on suspicion of harassment. there is more on that story on the website. one more question before i let you go, the alleged betting scandal, just to play on play on and on, doesn't it? more news coming out today? it on, doesn't it? more news coming out toda ? , ., on, doesn't it? more news coming out toda ? ., .,, on, doesn't it? more news coming out toda? , today? it is a totally sprawling scandal, today? it is a totally sprawling scandal. saga. _ today? it is a totally sprawling scandal, saga, or— today? it is a totally sprawling scandal, saga, or whatever. today? it is a totally sprawling i scandal, saga, or whatever word today? it is a totally sprawling - scandal, saga, or whatever word you want to use. we have slightly different case is now. there is clearly a difference between the allegations facing the two conservative candidates. they are not conservative candidates any more after the decision by the conservative party to disown them yesterday. the accusation facing the former labour candidate disowned by labour yesterday, that is about betting on the outcome of potential outcome of the election in the constituency in which he was standing. all sorts of different threads, but what is common to them, people in politics betting on politics. and whether that ends up being a matterfor politics. and whether that ends up being a matter for the gambling commission orfor the being a matter for the gambling commission or for the law, being a matter for the gambling commission orfor the law, i think what this is increasingly is a matter for politics and politicians to consider whether the rules, i mean there aren't really any, on politicians betting on politics are in the right place. i think if this saga continues to develop over the next few days there will be growing pressure on the main parties to suggest new rules, new codes of practice, if you like, on how politicians should engage with political betting. henry, thank you. henry is there in nottingham. you can watch the election debate this evening on the bbc, the prime ministerial debate. mishal husain quizzes rishi sunak and sir keir starmer tonight at 8.15 on bbc one and bbc iplayer. let's now cross live and followed the liberal democrats and see what they are up to today. jenny hill is on the lib dems buzz. it is not moving, and i wonder what the plan is today? i think the lib dems are talking about health?— i think the lib dems are talking about health? , . , , , about health? they are in deep, yes. good morning- _ about health? they are in deep, yes. good morning. we _ about health? they are in deep, yes. good morning. we have _ about health? they are in deep, yes. good morning. we have pulled - about health? they are in deep, yes. good morning. we have pulled into l good morning. we have pulled into what looks like the car park of a supermarket in chelmsford. it is an interesting constituency, this one, for the lib dems. they are hoping they can take it, it is held by the conservatives. but after success at local level over recent years, they are pretty confident. you can get a full list of candidates in this particular seat our bbc website. so to health, you are right, ed davey wants to talk about plans to make sure that every cancer patient in england has a specialist nurse. in order to do that the lib dems say they would need to recruit 3400 more specialist nurses over the course of the next parliament. as always, these things come with a hefty price tag. they reckon 130 million of initial investment in training followed by £240 million a y